'We're here': UFC 300 means Jim Miller reached goal, years after UFC 200 retirement plan

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It’s only fitting Jim Miller kicked off UFC 300 fight week festivities Wednesday, considering the years of build.

As he’s done dozens of times before and after fights, Miller (37-17 MMA, 26-16 UFC) greeted reporters with a smile as he sat down and picked up the microphone – but the moment felt uniquely special.

Miller, 40, is on the verge of history, as his attire referenced. He sported a black UFC 100 jacket, given to him when he fought Mac Danzig at the historic event in 2009 – seven years before he competed at UFC 200 vs. Takanori Gomi.

Both of those bouts were wins for Miller, who hopes to complete the trifecta Saturday vs. Bobby Green (31-15-1 MMA, 12-10-1 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena.

Win or lose, he’ll be the only fighter to compete at all three historic events. The specialness of the moment isn’t lost on Miller, who explained his journey didn’t always indicate this would even be possible.

“(This) means I hit a goal that I put on myself and was challenging,” Miller said. “I think I started mentioning fighting on this card in 2020, maybe 2019, something like that – and we’re here and I’m performing. When I first started talking about it, it was like, ‘OK, maybe I’ll drag myself to that card.'”

The initial stages of Miller’s years-long process of vocalizing his desire to fight at UFC 300 while also putting on performances to maintain his roster spot were reminiscent of his attitude prior to UFC 200 in 2016. The plan was to simply get here, with a future uncertain beyond it.

“That’s kind of what I was doing for UFC 200,” Miller said. “I was having a really tough time in 2015 and early 2016. It was like, ‘Man, let’s get through 196, and I’m going to tell Joe Silva and tell everybody I want to fight on UFC 200, and we’re going to call it.’ That was kind of the idea. It was like, ‘Hey, let’s see if I can drag myself to 300.’ Where I was at when I first started talking about it was a different place than I am now.

“I feel like I’ve got four parts to this career at this point – the pre-Lyme career, Lyme Disease, and then coming out of Lyme and trying to figure out how to make this sh*t work as being over 35 as a lightweight. It’s essentially the kiss of death. Now, having figured it out and having the right people around me, it’s cool to be here, and I’ll be happy when there are questions that don’t involve 300.”

Now, three days out from the event, Miller is in a comfortable position. Despite his veteran status in the sport, Miller has won four of his most recent five outings, all of which came by stoppage. Retirement is not in the immediate future.

“For me, the biggest thing is how camps go,” Miller said. “Fight night, there is always challenges. You spend a couple days cutting weight, you go into an athletic event against somebody who is trying to take your head off. Obviously, injuries can happen. But for me, the thing that’s going to force me out, if it does, hopefully it doesn’t and I can fight until I want to leave, is the ability to get through camp in shape, ready, and healthy to perform on fight night. I feel like I’ve got things dialed in. I’ve got a great team. I’ve got great coaches. I’m using my head. I don’t like making mistakes. I know the secret is for me to get to the fight and it’s really kind of simple at this point: stay healthy and be in shape and not doing anything stupid.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: ‘We’re here’: UFC 300 means Jim Miller reached goal, years after UFC 200 retirement plan